GW Recognizes Student Excellence at 2026 Academic Honors Ceremony

The George Washington University honored and recognized its highest-achieving students for the 2025-2026 academic year Wednesday evening at the annual Academic Honors Ceremony, held this year in the Grand Ballroom of the University Student Center.

The Academic Honors Ceremony recognizes the academic performance of undergraduates who have earned at least 60 credits at GW and are in the top 2% of their schools by GPA. Additionally, each school selects a Distinguished Scholar (the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences selected four) who has excelled both in and out of the classroom. The selection process for Distinguished Scholars differs by school.

A total of 215 students earned Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards on Wednesday, representing 51 majors across eight schools. Of these, 78 students received the award for the second time, while 15 were recognized for a third time. One student, Joshua Blaustein of the Elliott School of International Affairs, was recognized for a fourth year.

President Ellen M. Granberg congratulated the students, saying their achievements inspire hope for the future.

"Your achievements resound with hope, confidence and agency," Granberg said, "because your time here at GW is preparing you not simply to meet the future, but to shape it, to be the change that this moment demands."

Granberg thanked the GW faculty and staff members who guided the students on their journey, as well as the family members and friends who supported them in "an unprecedented time of change and challenge for higher education" in which the university's very purpose is being closely examined.

"It's easy to hear the low hum of anxiety and the rumble of uncertainty about all that's happening around us," Granberg said. "But at this moment, you, the outstanding students we're honoring today, are tuning us to a different frequency. Now, more than ever, celebrating your accomplishments and your success is a powerful, resonant and, I think, necessary act of affirmation of you and of higher education."

Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs John Lach presided over the occasion, saying it was a pleasure to meet so many committed students from across the university.

"As Distinguished Scholars and Outstanding Academic Achievement Award recipients, you have gone above and beyond to meet the academic challenge GW has set forth," Lach said.

Associate Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Special Programs Jeffrey Brand read the names of the Outstanding Academic Achievement Awardees.

Lach then introduced the 10 Distinguished Scholars, who appeared on stage with Lach, Granberg and deans or representatives from their respective colleges or schools.

Here are the names of GW's 2026 Distinguished Scholars, with excerpts from Lach's remarks summarizing their achievements:

Marc-Andre Berthin, School of Engineering and Applied Science:

Berthin is a mechanical engineering major with an aerospace concentration. At GW, he has combined mentorship and advanced research, serving as a Student Peer Advisory Network mentor who supports incoming engineering students. He holds leadership roles on the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Rocket and CubeSat teams and remains deeply engaged in the engineering community as a student ambassador and organizer.He leads multidisciplinary research, including three years in the Micropropulsion and Nanotechnology Laboratory, where he designed and tested plasma propulsion systems, shaping his aspirations in aerospace.

Caroline Hammonds, School of Nursing:

Hammonds is a Dean's List student who demonstrates strong academic performance, clinical curiosity and a clear commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care. She serves as a cohort representative, advocating for her classmates as they navigate the academic and clinical demands of the nursing program; organized a blood drive with the Inova Health System and participated in prospective student outreach to encourage future nurses; and is developing a research initiative focused on hygiene and patient dignity-examining nail care as an often-overlooked component of infection prevention.

Grayson Lewis, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences:

Lewis is a history major who has concentrated on early American history, with a minor in law and society. Her honors thesis examining constitutional ratification and national identity received the 2025 Deixler/Swain Prize for best U.S. history honors thesis. She served as editor-in-chief of the George Washington Historical Review and as an intern at the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Historian. She was also a curatorial intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and a research assistant for the George Washington Presidential Library.

Elliot Ping Shih Lo, School of Business:

Lo is a business and international affairs double major with a concentration in finance. As vice president of external relations for the Undergraduate Consulting Group and an equity analyst for the Investment Institute's Phillips Student Investment Fund, he has shown strong leadership and engagement. He was a climate and energy policy intern at the Niskanen Center and a strategy and technology intern with Flex.

Olivia Nippe-Jeakins, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences:

Nippe-Jeakins is an astronomy and astrophysics major whose research, including at Jefferson Lab and Vanderbilt University, spans the universe's most energetic phenomena and the fundamental forces governing the atomic nucleus. She was named a Universities Space Research Association Distinguished Undergraduate and received grants in nuclear physics and astrophysics. At GW, she was president of the Society of Physics Students and an American Physical Society student ambassador. She recently was awarded a fellowship through the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowships Program.

John Parel, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences:

Parel is a psychological and brain sciences major enrolled in GW's bachelor and M.D. program. He has authored or co-authored seven research publications spanning oncology and orthopedic surgery in prestigious medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, and presented his work at medical conferences across the country. He serves as a teaching assistant for organic chemistry and an extra lecture support instruction leader for general chemistry.

Carsyn Parmelee, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences:

Parmelee is a cognitive neuroscience and psychological and brain sciences student who has conducted research on LGBTQIA+ mental health across multiple labs. She presented her work at academic conferences, received the Sigelman Undergraduate Research Enhancement Award and served as a study coordinator in the Goodman Emotion and Resilience Lab.

Aaron Rumble,College of Professional Studies:

Rumble is an information technology major who demonstrates strong problem-solving, data analysis and communication skills with a focused interest in AI governance. His cybersecurity research includes smart-home Internet of Things (or IoT) vulnerabilities, insider cyber threats and their psychological drivers, congressional-style testimony on a major cyberattack against the U.S. electric grid, and a capstone project examining information technology and operational technology convergence in the energy sector.

Rhea Turner, Milken Institute School of Public Health:

Turner is the first graduate of the new health data science major. She conducted impactful research with Maranda Ward and co-authored an abstract presented at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting. She was president of the National Council of Negro Women and vice president of finance for the Black Student Union. While at GW, she founded Rhythms with Rhea, a pediatric adaptive dance therapy initiative for hospitalized children.

Benjamin Wieser, Elliott School of International Affairs:

Wieser has completed two majors, international affairs and political science, in three years. As a member of the Dean's Scholars program, he focuses on state and rebel violence, demonstrating advanced quantitative research skills. He founded and directed the Student Advocate's Office, served as managing director of the Justice Journal, and acted as deputy chief of staff for the Student Government Association. He has held internships at the U.S. House of Representatives, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.